Road Trip Tech

Video Transcript

Julissa: My goodness if you are thinking about taking a trip, you’ve got to get these, Marianne, so helpful. This first one, I am like shocked. These not the jumper cables that I’m used to seeing.

Ryan: I am on a quest to not actually ever have to talk to another person, because…when a jumper cable…When your car dies you kind have to go talk to somebody. It’s just so uncomfortable. So buy this instead it’s worth seventy bucks.
You can jump start your car now a smaller car you can jump start up to fifteen times, a bigger car maybe once or twice.

Julissa: Can I just have that one?

Ryan: But…

[Crosstalk]

Julissa: I can jump start my car with this.

Ryan: Yes you can, or you know what? You can question somebody with it, too. We were talking about that.

Ryan: Again if you don’t ever wanna talk to somebody, it’s the way to go.

Julissa: Yes right, so you just put this in… [crosstalk]

Ryah: It’s got, it’s got a little flashlight on it.

Julissa: And they put this on the car? Oh my gosh. This is so much easier to carry around.

Ryan: And it’s only seventy bucks, and the whole thing is also got some USB ports so you can use it as a charger in your car as well.

Julissa: Oh yeah…

Ryan: And that way it doesn’t go dead, like if you leave this in your trunk and you forget about it. Six years later you try it out you go, aw son of a gun, it doesn’t work, so you just keep it activated.

Julissa: That’s fantastic, fantastic.

Ryan: This is by Jackery. This is also another little charger. Cool part about this is it’s got those two USB ports so you can simultaneously charge devices.

Julissa: Two Ipads?

Ryan: And it’s only twenty bucks.

Julissa: I love it.

Ryan: You just put that in the car seat in the back, and the kids can plug right into it and charge right up.

Julissa: That’s a good thing to have on any trip, too. Just an extra little battery like that. All right.

Ryan: Now GPS. everybody’s has got GPS on their phone, and they think they know how to get there but Ways is the best. One of the cool parts about it is it’ll tell you about road hazards, it’ll say hey there’s a car stopped on the side of the road coming up. It’ll tell you traffic alerts. Like one of the coolest parts, it tells you where the cops are. How cool is that? So you can report that there’s cops and it’ll say slow down there’s a cop coming up here in the next mile.

Julissa: You have your passenger report it for you right?

Ryan: …hands free [inaudible 00:01:51]. It’s a crowdsourcing for your GPS. It’ll tell you how fast cars are going, it also plays little games with you as you’re driving. It’ll let you pick up little candies as you drive to get extra points. Kind of cool.

Julissa: Because you don’t have enough to focus on when you’re driving right?

[Crosstalk]

Ryan: Well again, for your passenger, they can play a game.

Julissa: That’s right, that’s right.

Ryan: So this is another cool one. So how many times you’ve been driving down five and you are going to Disneyland and all of a sudden you go, oh I’m so hungry and all you see is McDonald’s, Jack in the Box, and you say I don’t wanna go to those places.

Julissa: Yes.

Ryan: This is called I Exit, it’s I Exit app. The cool part is it tells you what’s coming up in the next.

Julissa: Ahead of time. Oh, that’s great.

Ryan: So I don’t wanna go to McDonald’s. Maybe there’s a salad joint in the next place [crosstalk]…and it’s really, really cool. It’s $299. Look who brought our food, so there we go. Now we know what’s coming up at the next exit. Tater tots with garlic. This is really cool. It’s $299 and that way your passenger can say hey don’t go to Jack in the Box. Just go on a little bit further and you can go to the salad place.

Julissa: That is a great one. Because I’m always thinking like, you know I don’t really like his options. Let’s see. Maybe one more exit.

Ryan: Use this with Ways and that Squatter Sit app and you’re totally set for your road trip. I just said it to make you laugh, that’s all I do it for.

Julissa: Oh my gosh. There you go and off you go on your road trip. Fantastic, Ryan thank you so much.

Ryan: You’re welcome.

Julissa: Always great to see you, so great tips. I mean…

Marianne: You have to talk to another person. That got my attention.

Nothing quite screams summer like, “Road Trip!!” and these days, gadgets and apps can make your voyage far more enjoyable than they once were when we were growing up. Nerds on Call are here to show you some must-have tech accessories and apps to pair with your next road trip.

By now, most of you know that we here at Nerds on Call are all about safety. We want to give you sound advice on how to use tech to make the roads a safer place to be. Here are a few gadgets and apps to help keep you from being stranded on the side of the road.. and maybe even alert you of upcoming speed traps.

Anker

Anker is an awesome compact car jump-starter AND portable charger. This handy-dandy gadget can jump start a 3L gas vehicle 15 times on a single charge! It also has 2 USB charging ports for your mobile devices- which solves one of the biggest challenges of being in the car for an extended period of time. Instead of stringing charging cables from limited cigarette lighters, invest in a portable charger. You can take it anywhere so you aren’t tied to the car for powerAnker Compact Car Jump Starter + Portable Charger$63.99

Jackery Giant +

The Jackery Giant + is a compact and sleek 12,000 mAh Dual USB portable battery charger that is super convenient to bring along for the ride. It is compact and sturdy, lightweight and inexpensive. Giant + can charge your iPhone up to 5 times or a Samsung Galaxy up to 3 times on a single charge. Need a boost on your tablet battery? The Giant + can help you with that too with it’s dual USB outputs, you can charge 2 devices simultaneously – no need to worry after the 5th princess movie when you still have 100 miles to go.Jackery Giant +$20

Waze

Waze is a smarter GPS app for iOS and Android OS. It’s a user based community that shares real time traffic updates and road information- saving everyone time and gas money on your commute. It has some pretty cool features that can really help you on your trip – such as getting alerted to upcoming speed traps, accidents and traffic jams. Users also post gas prices so you can see where to get the cheapest gas in real-time.Waze
Free on the App Store and Google Play

iExit

When you need to make a pitstop – bathroom, snack or just to stretch your legs – wouldn’t you love to know what the next exit offers in food, dining and playground opportunities? Well we found the app that makes it possible. iExit for Android and iOS uses GPS to find you on the freeway, determine the direction you’re headed, and let’s you know what’s coming up at the next exits. iExit also includes real-time gas prices, and you can scroll through the next few exits to help you decide if you should exit now, or hold out for something better down the road.iExit App$2.99

About The Author:
Andrea Eldridge is CEO and co-founder of Nerds On Call, a computer repair company that specializes in on-site and online service for homes and businesses. Andrea is the writer of a weekly column, Nerd Chick Adventures in The Record Searchlight. She prepares TV segments for and appears regularly on CBS, CW and FOX on shows such as Good Day Sacramento, More Good Day Portland, and CBS 13 News, offering viewers technology and lifestyle tips. See Andrea in action at callnerds.com/andrea/.